Thursday thanks

It's Thursday and hardly any awkward things have happened to me so far this week! Well done, self.

(Although today I'm off to Oaks Park amusement park with Kendall's 6th grade class and who knows what might happen...)

So instead of an awkward and awesome post, I'm just going to list a few things I'm thankful for right now.

- Only 5 more school days until summer break. Hallelujah.
- our new back door and vinyl windows in the kitchen. I think our house is 10 degrees warmer already! (Which is a good thing, we're in a cold spell.)
- Only 2 more days of the 52 miles in May challenge (counting today). 52 miles in a month is hard! I'm currently at 38 miles so it's pretty safe to say I'm going to come up short, but like I posted on instagram, 38 is still a lot of miles and I feel good about it!
- Call the Midwife on Netflix. It's no Downton Abbey but I'm enjoying it all the same!
- My kindle. I've been a binge and purge reader for the last couple of years and I'm glad to say after an especially long stint without picking it up I'm in a total book binge right now! Yeah, reading!
- 6th graders who can do their own school projects without assistance.

Kendall had to make a diorama of a scene from a book she read and created this orthodontist office all on her own. (With a tray of tools next to the chair and a sink in the corner. Cute.)
- Aaaaannnddd, last but not least, I would be remiss to not mention something white chocolate related. My newest favorite? White chocolate kit kat bars. HEAVEN.

A rainy Memorial Day

We had to cancel our Memorial day plans due to lots and LOTS of rain. 

So... hello, dog piling on the couch with lots of blankets to watch season two of Gold Rush on Netflix. 

 Hello, flips and cannonballs into said pile of blankets now moved to the living room floor.

 And hello, game day! Yeah baby!

Happy Memorial Day :)

Awkward and Awesome

It's time for a little more awkward and lot a more awesome!

Awkward
- the makeover Kendall gave me last night. And my attempts at keeping a straight face when I saw it in the mirror. Obviously I have taught her NOTHING in the art of makeup application and have my work cut out for me.
-  the number of times the siding guys have shown up bright and early this past week and knocked on the front door to ask/tell me something when I have yet to put on my bra. Ridiculous.
- Oregon's recent return to winter-like weather (no kidding, 42 degrees yesterday afternoon) after a lovely dry spring that turned out to be nothing but a nasty ruse to woo us into bringing out our summer wardrobes way too early. RUDE.
- the record breaking amount of Hi-chews I've eaten in the past few days. Ever heard of them? Costco sample tables (my biggest weakness) made me buy them and the apple and mango flavors are the best in case you were wondering.

Almost empty bag courtesy of my kids (50%) and me (the other 50%)

Awesome
- learning how to make scones and discovering how quick and easy and AMAZING they are! A friend shared this recipe with me, with the tip of using only 1/2 cup of butter instead of 3/4 cup, and freezing it first and then just grating it into the dry ingredients. I added pecans and white chocolate and can't wait to try other combos next, because oh I WILL be making more!

- rainy day fort building.

- the two new dresses I have in my closet just waiting to wear this summer (when and if it ever arrives).

One I bought at the beach two weekends ago (turquoise - from Maurice's), and the other my friend Beth bought and then decided it didn't work for her so she GAVE it to me, still brand new! (from Ross). And that's why having girlfriends is awesome. (Okay there are other reasons too, but clothes sharing is waaay up there.)
- my new blog design! It was about time I spruced things up around here. I found Laura's etsy shop off another blog and made the inexpensive plunge (really inexpensive!) to have a custom design done for me. God bless Laura's heart for interpreting my thoughts and desires, and changed desires, and second thoughts, and wait... I have a different thought..., because guess what? Turns out I am PICK-EEEEE. She was totally awesome though, check her out HERE.

And have an awesome Thursday!

a t-shirt fringe scarf paaartaaay

Last night was "pinterest night", ie: girl's craft night, and we took on the t-shirt fringe scarf tutorial found all over pinterest. The perfect project for me since all it required was a t-shirt and scissors and a few snip snips! (And an excuse to go to the Goodwill for cheap tees!)

Seriously, all you do is cut the t-shirt straight across under the armpits and then cut a fringe across the bottom, pulling the individual strands when you're done to stretch them out and make them curl in on the edges. Throw it around your neck and you're done!

The girls: Hillary, Heidi, Holli, Jennifer, Kelly, Nicole, Diana, Ellie, and me. (And Shay who hosted and took this pic)

Look at all them cute scarves! Thanks to our new friend Heidi some of us (read: not me) got REAL Crafty and cut out extra holes and hung beads, etc. There are seriously endless options of things you can do with a simple t-shirt and some scissors. 

I love a fun girl's night!

A weekend full of sawdust

Another weekend has come and gone and all that's left are the fun memories we made and the trail of mud and dust leading through my laundry room and kitchen that are causing me to wail and gnash my teeth in despair. (Read: complain really loudly.)

The highlights:
- Cooper had a friend over Friday afternoon and this happened:

Now to clarify: I'm going to call this a highlight for THEM. After I congratulated the boys and took their picture, I then demanded they get rid of that thing far, FAR from the house and go scrub their hands with soap before touching a single thing in my house.

- Friday night Kendall was at a sleepover so it was just me and the boys. And what did we do? We played Qwirkle (Russ is on a winning streak lately and it's driving me bananas) and watched Mirror, Mirror. I secretly found this hilarious.

- Saturday night we had an impromptu date night to see the new Star Trek movie with my sister and brother-in-law and father, and it was just as awesome as I expected.

- Sunday afternoon Kendall performed at her annual piano recital and not only did she play her two songs she's been working on for months excellently, but she also played and sang a new song she wrote herself. With not an ounce of fear. (Or an ounce of photos taken of her.)

(Never fear though, Grandma... I videoed!)

- Our new siding project is well underway and this includes getting a new back door and kitchen windows, which Russell worked on prepping for and putting in yesterday, besides working for hours repairing a few rotted spots of wall found under our old siding. He's so handy!

He's not half bad to watch either ;)

The lowlights:
- My entire kitchen is covered with a very fine layer of sawdust thanks to that empty window opening.

- My laundry room is also filled with muddy clothes and boots and power cords going out the back door and random tools deposited in the middle of the floor for unknown reasons, and it's all very depressing to look at.

- Oh look, they're in the garden again! Enough said.

- I almost lost poor Leroy (the betta fish) down the drain while transferring him to a clean canning jar in my kitchen sink. He went straight into the drain cover and darned if he wasn't a slippery dude to get back out - I thought for sure I'd killed him by the time I finally got a hold of him and put him back in his water. Thankfully I didn't end up having to make that announcement to Cooper and Leroy lives to see another day. It was a very stressful few moments there though!

- I had a massive bout of menstrual-induced grumpiness late Saturday afternoon that could only be termed  "aggressive" and possibly even "volatile". By golly, you didn't want to be in my war path... especially if you just jumped in the swimming pool fully clothed while it was raining outside (boots included) and then were overheard saying "you don't need to tell Mom, it's okay with her." (Ahem, COOPER).

Let's just say I owed everybody an apology the next morning.

But hey, nobody's perfect, right? It was still a good weekend :)

Instafriday

Bit of a slow week since returning from the coast last weekend... it's been nice! But it makes for a rather boring week of instagramming I'm sorry to say...

On Mother's day Kendall played with my hair for two hours while I watched the Survivor finale. I could not think of a more perfect gift... I was purring. 

My quest to conquer Couch to 5K continues... with a little help from Call the Midwife (set up in front of my treadmill) and some delicious raspberry & rhubarb pie that needed working off!

Blake takes creeping to new levels. 

Nursery duty Wednesday night. Made easy by Kendall and her friends coming in to play with the littles and put on a puppet show. 

Cooper pitched for the first time at last night's baseball game and it was ridiculous how nervous I was for him! Being the center of attention is his least favorite thing in the world so we were so proud of him for holding it together (for the most part) when he walked a couple of players and we could tell he wanted to burst into tears. He went out on a high note though... he caught a line drive hit that went right to him for the last out of the game!

We found this vintage 7-up gallon jug under our front porch this week when we started tearing it up to be replaced. Cool, no? I love old things!

We have some dismal weather in the forecast for this weekend (and the foreseeable future actually) but I still plan on enjoying it to it's fullest! Happy weekend to you all :)

The sheep are still here

I've had a couple of questions about our sheep and how they are doing so I'm here with your update.

They are alive and well.

They have eaten every last flower in every single one of my flower gardens.

Including my lilies, peonies, iris bulbs, old garden roses, lambs ear, rose campion, and anything else that manages to bloom for half a second. Except the bleeding hearts, they don't seem to care for those.

OR MINE.

Yes, I'm incredibly bitter.

They have also developed a strong hatred towards our dog Miley and enjoy nothing more than chasing her around and around the house until she crawls under our front porch and hides.

Last week when this was happening Miley made the mistake of jumping up on the front porch and whining outside the front door to be let in. Before we could do that though Rusty jumped up on the porch right behind her and gave her a mighty ramming into the door.

Miley is now afraid to go outside.

So you see, we've raised a herd of flower-eating dog bullies that literally run the yard.

And we love them. Well, 4/5 of our family loves them. I have more of a love/hate relationship thing going on.

It's just that they're so darned cute to watch! The babies especially, are hilarious. And they all come running each time Russ calls them like he's the pied piper or something and then he sits with them and I have to yell out the kitchen window and remind him that he has a real family inside too. ;)

Raising sheep is addicting.

Downright lovely

Ahhhhhh, the beach. Need I say more?

I spent the weekend here with some wonderful ladies at our church women's retreat and loooooved every minute of it, as I always do.

(Praying I don't get killed for sharing this pic... I just think these girls are sooo cute :) Tricia, Jana, Amy, Kelly, and Beth.)

Like I told my husband, couples getaways and family vacations are wonderful, but there's just something about staying up late sleepover-style with a bunch of girlfriends and laughing till you cry that is incredibly therapeutic. It was exactly what I needed.

No retreat would be complete without my sister Kelly - who came into my room first thing Sunday morning to give me cuddles and a mother's day card. She IS the best sister in the world. She is also a gifted worship leader and led worship for most of the sessions, doing a great job.

Jana & Karyn (sisters-in-law), and mom and daughter pair Vicky & Beth.

My roomies: Jana, Tricia, & Cara. 

I love them with all my heart. 

I also love my new leather cross-body purse.

Yep, the bright yellow one. 

Saturday morning a group of us walked/jogged down the shore to Haystack Rock, where I used my mother's selfie camera trick and got 5 of us all in one shot! She would be so proud!!

SHOPPING! Part of my mother's day present each year is spending money for Saturday afternoon. This year we drove up the coast a bit to Warrenton and hit Ross and Maurice's. JACKPOT. A shopping spree is my favorite kind of gift :) 

(And Bruce's Candy Kitchen is my favorite little candy shop in Cannon Beach.)

My friend Amy making what could only be called a "questionably" joyful noise unto the Lord ;)

Oh, good times. 

Pictures I didn't take that I wish I had: my beautiful mother-in-law Teri and her new peplum jacket that is the cutest thing you ever did see, the water baptisms in the freezing cold sea outlet on the beach Sunday morning, and our pastor Carolyn who did such an excellent job teaching. I came hope refreshed, inspired, renewed, and feeling loved.

Speaking of love, my family made mother's day the best by cleaning the house top to bottom and welcoming me home Sunday afternoon with a bunch of homemade treasures. Everyone wrote in the card, and my absolute favorite part was when Russ wrote after listing a bunch of sweet compliments about me, that I was "downright lovely". That is not a term he ever uses and it just tickled me to no end! Perhaps he watched a little Downton Abbey while I was gone?

I also found this hanging over my kitchen sink - filled with plants picked by each of the kids and Russ. Love it.

Now for those that might be wondering, what about YOUR mother, Jodi?

Here's where she was Sunday:

 "Good morning from the desert" she texted us bright and early.

And later in the day... "after an exhausting climb, 547 miles completed."

That's 547 miles in the ONE MONTH she's been gone.

My amazing mother is my GREATEST inspiration and hero of all.